BOOKS

If I Had a Dinosaur

illus. by Alex Barrow. 32p. Thames & Hudson. Feb. 2017. Tr $14.95. ISBN 9780500650998.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—A little girl really wants a new pet. She thinks dogs are nice and cats are cute. But she wants something a bit bigger. What about a dinosaur? She starts to imagine how awesome life would be with this enormous creature. She already knows her dinosaur would bring back the biggest stick while playing fetch in the park. She would take the beast to school and everyone would find her new pet not only cool but also smart. She visualizes the huge amount of food she would need to feed it and how she would fill a swimming pool so it would have plenty of water to drink. Life would be great with a pet dinosaur. This is a fantastic story conveyed through the vivid imagination of a child. The tale is told in an amusing rhyme that will delight young children. For example, "Dinosaurs make smashing pets,/as dinosaurs can do/much better stuff than dogs or cats./Just watch out for the…!" The illustrations give young ones a good idea about the enormous size of the pet. Vibrant colors are used to enhance the pictures. The illustrations make good use of white space and capture the attention of little listeners. A portion of the text is shaped around the dinosaur to make reading the book entertaining.
VERDICT The large pictures and simple text make this book perfect for storytime or for newly independent readers. Dinosaur enthusiasts and young children will love it.

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